138 replies to this topic

[Mark Donnelly]

Went to Midsummer House a couple of weeks back to celebrate my wedding anniversary.

The restaurant consists of a small house with a large conservatory on the bank of the Cam. We were in the conservatory which is light with very generous table spacing. The first thing to say is the staff were fantastic. Very friendly and informal, but hugely knowledgable and proud of what the restaurant had achieved. If you want stuffy, unfreiendly waiting staff, don't go to this restaurant.

We opted for the Tasting Menu. To start was an amuse of pink grapefruit foam. Intense flavour, but an odd choice to start (I prefer savory amuse to start a meal). Would have been much better as a pre desert amuse.

Next came another amuse and one of the highlights of the evening. This was (large) shot glass filled one half with cucumber jelly, a layer of diced smoked salmon and one half of a warm cauliflower veloute. The hot and cold sensation in the mouth was wonderful. The veloute showed real skill in keeping the cauliflower flavour fresh, but the salmon neither added or subtracted from the dish. A real winner.

Up next was the first Course (well what a remember anyway). This was a a perfectly cooked, plump scallop with an apple salad and celariac puree. Again very good, but not outstanding.

Course Two was a foie gras parfait "lollypop". This was sensational and demonstrated the skill of the kitchen to its fullest extent. The foie gras parfait was "stuffed" inside a sweet red pepper tube, which was a tuile. It was bright red red, sweet and broke up in the mouth like thin caramel. A coctail stick was inserted into the parfait, hence the lollypop.

Course Three was a single langoustine skewered on a plastic syringe filled with a shelfish sauce. This you had to pop into your mouth and squeeze t o extract the sauce. This trying to be too clever and failing. My wife squeezed a bit too hard and expectorated over the table a bit. Hmm.

Course Four was a combination of pig's trotter and smoked eel. The trotter was simply fantastic. The trotter had been braised for four hours intill meltingly tender. It had then been compressed in a terrine and left to set. Finally it was cut into oblong shaped piece, paned and deep fried. This was nothing short of sensational. The depth of flavour was fantasic. The pairing with smoked eel did not work, as the strong flavours competed with each other.

Then came another amuse. This was a novelty. A very heavy bottomed shotglass witha maple syrup layer topped with some sort of chive flavoured cream (fraiche maybe).

Course Five was braised beef. This was ok but lacked flavour.

Finally, Course Six was a cone shaped peanut parfait topped with a thin chocholate tuile and accompanied by bananna sorbet. Again very good.

We learnt that Daniel Clifford was off the following week to El Bulli. Clearly EB and Fat Duck influences were in evidence.

To summarise, some clear winners showing deep skills and inventiveness. Some parings did not work, but that's the price to pay for frontier cooking. All-in-all, a fantastic experience and puts many two starred restaurants in London to shame.

9.5/10

[Scottf]

I wonder how you'd grade it if more of the dishes were successful

[nimzo]

Did Mr Clifford also go to ElBulli in 2001 for the prawn sashimi and forget to bring the kellogs paella home. Is he calling in at Cinc Sentits next week for the maple syrup chupito perhaps?. It is one thing to have an influence or two as I am sure most top chefs will agree but I am at a loss to explain why a chef would simply copy a dish he has eaten Perhaps the braised beef was his idea. I've not eaten at Midsummer so difficult to comment on whether the execution is better than the originals but if he does have the technique I hope he discovers the imagination to match.

[the count of monte christo]

Did Mr Clifford also go to ElBulli in 2001 for the prawn sashimi and forget to bring the kellogs paella home. Is he calling in at Cinc Sentits next week for the maple syrup chupito perhaps?. It is one thing to have an influence or two as I am sure most top chefs will agree but I am at a loss to explain why a chef would simply copy a dish he has eaten Perhaps the braised beef was his idea. I've not eaten at Midsummer so difficult to comment on whether the execution is better than the originals but if he does have the technique I hope he discovers the imagination to match.

Pourcel - sea urchin

Arzak - Rectangle sponge with quenelles of ice creams

foie gras and smoked eel is a famous starter from Martin Berasategui

'Roellinger certainly didn't invent salted butter caramel, it's probable that M. Roux of Quiberon didn't either, but the dessert in Roellinger's book and the desserts I ate at Roellinger's restaurant and the Fat Duck were the same; a thick disc of soft caramel acting as podium for a quenelle of chocolate sorbet crested with a fine outsize tuile and ringed with some also caramel-like sauce.' lord michael lewis

tobacco chocolates El Bulli menu in '98.

"What foods evoke childhood memories?" veyrat

'Gaspacho à la moutarde d'Orléans, crème glacée -- Arpege (note the Fat Duck's endearingly slavish adoption of Passard's misspelling of gazpacho.' lord michael lewis

Nimzo it happens all the time.

[sarah w]

We visited Midsummer on saturday night, seems like forever since we went anywhere starred so i am not sure if it Jades you

Having read reviews in Time Out, Hardens etc alot of chat about stuffiness, napkin folding etc to be honest we found the opposite, there were Michelin type touches but generally it was very relaxed (i also was surprised at this @ Ramsays)

We were sat very quickly by a very cheerful but quite in loud member of staff, menus came quickly.
I was surprised that there didnt appear to be a sommiliear as such, a guy who could have been Maitre'd did offer some advice but also said "cool" when i selected the wine. Worringly i had emailed them to ask about a wine from the webisite and in the mail depsite asking about a NZ white he had added "We do have copious quantities of red Burgundy, and other special things to choose from" which i found odd in the 1st place...Anyway at the restaurant i heard the cool chap selling another table red burgundy as the all singing match everything wine..Ummm it just concerned me

Then we were given our 1st foam Pink Grapefruit & champers (same as mark donnelly's post)
It was very nice but a little to sweet to start, this was our 1st foam experience and not sure it really rocked my world

Next we were given butter but no bread
Then 2nd amuse arrived, a very nice pea veloute, pea foam and very tender king prawns...This was good
still no bread, i decided to ask
It looked like someone would be in trouble !!

To start i had
Scallop
Seared Hand Dived Scallop, Celeriac & Truffle Purée, Fresh Apple, Apple Reduction
: 2 decent scallops but nothing out of the ordinary. Apple jelly a bit weak

Andy had
Vichyssoise
Warm Vichyssoise, Poached Oysters, Leek Purée,
Jersey Royals, Sevruga Caviar
: This was good, lovely oysters

We asked to add on Tasting size version of the
Smoked Eel
Salad of Smoked Eel, Crispy Pigs Trotter,
Braeburn Pureé, Wild Cress
:Just had to try it, as Mark's post said the pigs trotter croquets were very good, tasted like a very rich braised ham, there were slithers of foie Gras
The Smoked eel with thick but a little mild if anything

For mains we had
Turbot
Braised Turbot with Peanuts and Pistachio,
Wilted Cos Lettuce, Fresh Asparagus, Squash Purée, Essence of Vanilla
: Everything was cooked to perfection, great piece of fish..Nuts didn’t work for me and the squash puree could have been sweeter. I always enjoy Wilted lettuce, the essence of vanilla was sprayed on, pleasant but not particuarly strong vanilla

and
Dover Sole
Sautéed Dover Sole, Cauliflower and Langoustine Purée, Cucumber, Samphire, Grilled Langoustine
:Again fish was excellent, and the samphire and langoustine went down well. Andy really didn’t enjoy the puree, he thought it was like butterscotch I thought it was like peanut butter, very odd and savoury

A Crème Caramel Foam
: could have eaten more of that

Andy had wanted the Farmhouse Camembert with truffles but none left so we reselected

Raspberry
Millefeuille of Vanilla, Fresh Raspberries,
White Chocolate Mousse, Champagne Sorbet,
Fresh Nettles
: Very tasty, crispy caramel tuille with beautiful raspberries

Apricot
Cannelloni of Apricot, Strawberry Sorbet, Fraise des Bois, Crystalised Mint
: Very similar to a dessert we had at Chantecler in Nice when Alain Llorca cooked there, the apricot/canneloni element was almost like sheets of melt in the mouth plastic wrapped around the filling...(tasted better than it sounds !)

We then retired to the small bar for a beer, the chocolate humidor was bought up. Selected 6 chocs
Took them home, not sure about curry chocolate and soft caramel one was amazing !!
It was also quite amusing when we told to give them to a girl called XXX she knew how to wrap well, they were presented to us in tin foil !!

Bill £200
2 x A'la Carte, 2 x aperitifs, extra course £20, 2 x beers, white wine from Loire £39, Service

************************************************************************

To summarise It was an enjoyable experience & meal
A beautifully decorated place, very friendly and happy staff
(We visited kitchen aswell, tiny and absolutely bustling)

I think in conclusion the more I eat out often the more simpler I want things, I hope this isnt age at 28 but sometimes I think places try to hard and there were too many foams.
All ingredients were of very high quality, cooked well, they have a lovely restaurant, enviable location (if you ignore pub next door) and staff who really seem to enjoy where they work..

I think a few refinment tweaks could be made (bread) & simplification (foam) and it would be very very good

I am not still not sure how they scale 2* places on but it be interesting to compare somewhere as different as Gavroche in august

Regards
Sarah

[sarah w]

P.S
Stayed at the Hotel Felix, lovely hotel
I think i have seen the Restaurant graffiti mentioned b4, we didnt dine there but chatted to some people who said it was really good and one of their dishes included a catcus like veg they had never had before

The hotel doesnt look immediately impressive when you pull due to annexe buildings near the car park but once inside the decor and ambience is lovely and our room was great....

http://www.hotelfelix.co.uk

about 15-20mins walk to town

Sarah

[adt]

they have a lovely restaurant, enviable location (if you ignore pub next door)

Whatever's wrong with the Fort St George In England? tsk...

I'd be a little wary of Graffiti btw, although I have to admit it was now a long time ago I went. Fantastic sounding menu but bad combinations and poor cooking. It may have improved...

[fabienpe]

I'd be a little wary of Graffiti btw, although I have to admit it was now a long time ago I went. Fantastic sounding menu but bad combinations and poor cooking. It may have improved...

This has not changed. I was there about a week ago.

[sarah w]

QUOTE
"Whatever's wrong with the Fort St George In England? tsk..."

**************************************************************


Ummm the people, the toilets, a bench table that said "do not enter" with crime scene tape wrapped round and the pricey sounding menu

Drinks were ok though

Sarah x

Edited by sarah w, 02 August 2005 - 04:27 AM.

[adt]

Ummm the people, the toilets, a bench table that said "do not enter" with crime scene tape wrapped round and the pricey sounding menu

Ha ha! Not sounding too great, I must admit. It's been a few years since I lived in that area, it must have de-gentrified.

Nice old building though, shame it's such a managed pub. Bet their menu is less pricey than next door's...

[sarah w]

Maybe not but we were shocked at £7+ for Tom and olive salad
Pub food prices always shock me

Obviously the place has gone downhill since you left the area !

Sarah

Edited by sarah w, 02 August 2005 - 08:20 AM.

[alexhills]

I've tended to avoid the food at the Fort. I probably had my about 3rd ever pint there as a 15 year-old so it has a soft spot in my heart.. To give you an idea of the general atmosphere, ordering a mix of Abbot and St.Edmunds Ale - a combination favored by East Anglian teenagers who have no desire to be able to stand - the barman replied 'yep, one brain damage' (its colloquialism)... and I really did look 15 too...

Actually a very attractive building and a nice place to sit out when it isn't overrun by current versions of my past self....

Edited by alexhills, 02 August 2005 - 10:29 AM.

[adt]

To give you an idea of the general atmosphere, ordering a mix of Abbot and St.Edmunds Ale - a combination favored by East Anglian teenagers who have no desire to be able to stand - the barman replied 'yep, one brain damage' (its colloquialism)

Wow, what a charmingly English way to get bladdered. As a confirmed real-ale drinker now, I can only lament a more snakebite-and-black youth. (v off topic, sorry, but this might amuse...)

[adt]

Back on topic, MH have just cancelled my reservation for tomorrow. Restaurant closed for the rest of the week due to, er... waste water problems or such like. I dread to think. Perhaps the undiscovered bodies at the FSG have finally contaminated the Cam.

[jackal10]

Having comissioned the waste system there, I can belive it. The FSG would not let us go on using theirs (I bought the building fromt he landlord of the FSG), so we had to install a new pumped system all the way across the common. It mostly works, but when it goes wrong, or the plonger pours too much melted fat down the drain, you would not want to have to resturant open, as the main access is just to the right of the front door...

[tony h]

Midsummer House, November 2005 – Lunch

Amuse was a small cup of grapefruit & champagne froth – the siphon was brought to your table and its lovely pure white foam dispensed in front of you. Couldn’t help thinking that it’d only be a matter time until the liquid nitrogen is brought into the equation. Anyway – it refreshed the palate which is what its supposed to do. Grapefruit & champagne – great combination.

Pre-starters – powerful yellow foam of pumpkin/squash which sat on a puree of wild mushroom – small dice of pumpkin/squash & sliced wild mushroom (girolle, I think). This was just wonderful. My only quibble was that the square shape glass cup in which it was served didn’t let you dig your spoon or bread into the corners to get at every last piece.

Feeling greedy – I chose two starters.

First was two of the largest scallops I’ve ever seen beautifully caramelised with strands of apple & truffle on top. To accompany this was a puree of celeriac & truffle, some cubes of apple gelee and a powerfully sweet apple reduction. It looked good – the puree applied in a large energetic gesture across the plate. I bite into the scallop – it was cold & raw inside. I was a bit shocked – was this some post-modern/molecular gastro joke? Sheepishly, I cut into the other & it seemed OK – more tepid that warm but kind of worrying. Unfortunately the rest of the dish was a bit disappointing – there was no discernable taste to the celeriac puree & not a hint of truffle aroma or flavour. The apple jelly was also a bit flavourless.
So what went wrong? I guess they cooked the scallops straight from the fridge rather than let them warm up a bit – or – perhaps these were unusually large and needed a heck of a lot more cooking. dunno.

Second starter was pressed terrine of ox tongue layers between thin sliced of carrot. This came with a variety of carrots done in different ways – sliced, foamed etc. To accompany this was a some cured foie gras – this was rather cute: long slice of fg which was rolled and joined at each end to form a cylinder. But bugger me if could detect any flavour in anything but the foie & the accompanying capers. If was just horribly tasteless & unforgivable – the terrine was fridge cold and watery. It takes real talent to extract & remove flavour from ox tongue. At one point I looked for the salt.

Around this time I’m think of paying up & leaving – yup, that bad. I’m glad I stayed though as the main met my expectations: roast monkfish with cassoulet, pumpkin puree & jus gras. Another one of the foie gras cylinders was on the plate but melted very quickly due to the heat. A much, much better dish & the jus gras was stunning - what you’d expect from a kitchen of this supposed calibre.

Desserts – I couldn’t really have cared at this stage & went for one which sounded oddest:: gingerbread cheesecake with poached plums. A bit of a wreck for a dessert – stodgy cheesecake, flavourless but strikingly pretty plums & some kind of iced cream (to my mind it was more frozen & churned cream rather that eg based ice cream). I detected some popping sugar somewhere in the dish. Oh, and there were a couple of nettles for decoration & tuiles filled with more tasteless cream. (If you go – go for the soufflé – I looked much better)

Anyway – a sadly disappointing visit to a place which obvious has talent but fails on the execution. Do they taste the food before it come out – dunno – but I’m sure some basic flaws could be fixed if they did.

[Mark Donnelly]

Clearly experiences and standards are quite variable - which is a shame.

[fabienpe]

Clearly experiences and standards are quite variable - which is a shame.

But the "judges" are also different...

[Mark Donnelly]

Yes, but a cold raw scallop does sound like standards are variable. Cooking scallops is relatively straightforward (i like mine pan fried in bacon fat), it is their internal temperature when they go into the pan that is important. My fridge is set to 3 degrees (C that is) and take scallops out for 45 min before cooking.

Don't know how youcan do this in a kitchen when you don't know what people will order and the fierce heat of a commercial kitchen.

Stll, no excuses for a cold raw scallop in a 2 star restaurant.

[Andy Lynes]

Don't know how youcan do this in a kitchen when you don't know what people will order and the fierce heat of a commercial kitchen.

If every professional kitchen I have been in, portioned fish and meat go straight from under-counter fridges to the pan when the order is called away, so there is no time it to come to room temperature. Scallops are cooked over a searingly high heat for a matter of seconds each side which is usually enough to heat them through perfectly. Monsters that size could easily come out cold in the centre if not allowed to come to room temperature before cooking. David at Le Champignon serves the biggest scallops I've ever seen and they've always been perfectly cooked there. I wonder how he does his?

[tony h]

David at Le Champignon serves the biggest scallops I've ever seen and they've always been perfectly cooked there. I wonder how he does his?

talent...

the scallops were about the same size - huge - which is why I was initially so excited when i saw they & why i was so crest fallen part way through
i kicked myself afterward for not complaining

[Mark Donnelly]

Well I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, so I suspect what I'm about to say is utter tosh. (a) Surely kitchens can have, say, 4-5 servings of scallops at a temperature of 10 degrees. These can be put back into the fridge if scallops are not selling well (the exact number can be based on past experience or if you are really scientific use time-series econometric techniques).

(b) Alternatively, take from cold fridge and put into tepid/warm water for 5 minutes.

[Matthew Grant]

I don't work in a kitchen either but I'm guessing that taking scallops out of a fridge and getting them to 10 degrees and then putting them back in the firdge without cooking them is against health regulations. I'd also hazard a guess that the heat in most kitchens would mean that if the inside of the scallop was at 10 degrees then the outside would be higher - again another health hazard

[Basildog]

When i cook larger scallops, i sear them in a hot pan as normal, but then i let them "rest" at the bottom of the grill to finish cooking.Only a minute, but it lets the heat get through to the center without overcooking.

edit, you really don't want to put scallop in water before you sear them, the water boils, the temp drops and it all goes tits up.

Edited by Basildog, 22 November 2005 - 09:29 AM.

[fabienpe]

I'm sure the chef at Midsummer does not need a lesson to cook scallops. Each time I had some they were perfectly cooked. Maybe it's the one off mistake which could happen anywhere. Who knows.

Did you tell them? What did they say? Or did you do like most customers who leave a restaurant with a big smile saying everything is wonderful and then criticise heavily?

[Andy Lynes]

Well, whichever chef cooked Tony's scallops seems to need some refresher training! Tony posted above that he is kicking himself for not complaining. I'm sure the restaurant would have replaced the dish if he had, but it's nevertheless an unusual thing to happen in a 2 star where consistancy is key to winning and maintaining that rating.

[the greek]

Well I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, so I suspect what I'm about to say is utter tosh. (a) Surely kitchens can have, say, 4-5 servings of scallops at a temperature of 10 degrees. These can be put back into the fridge if scallops are not selling well (the exact number can be based on past experience or if you are really scientific use time-series econometric techniques).

(b) Alternatively, take from cold fridge and put into tepid/warm water for 5 minutes

Yes, utter tosh!! Water, never

[alexw]

generally you would think that as soon as the check comes on the scallops are taken out of the fridge and placed on a tray (sometimmes pre-seasoned tray), then the rest of the kitchen gets to work preparing the rest of the order, an amuse would be served normally at this level I would think which buys time for the kitchen, then when the pan is suitably hot enough, start cooking and as basildog says you can hold for a couple of minutes under the grill or even perhaps the oven, we colour on one side, then as we flip the scallop over then it goes under the grill to get the pan heat colouring the 2nd side whilst the grill works on the whole temp, (I use much smaller scallops than the michelin boys), then for the last 30-45 seconds finish with soft butter and lemon juice to impart great flavour and also add that final heat.

at the FD they use the huge scallpos and probe each one before serving it, keeping it gently on the edge of the range until perfect (one item they don't, or at least when I was there didn't, sous-vide)

this sounds like a severe dans la merde moment and tony was just unlucky. Please mention it next time though cos we are all human and are perfectly capable of buggering up even on a good day, if we are not told then we get no chance to correct and a mistake that early on in a meal put you on a bit of a witch hunt which magnified any further mastakes you may have forgiven, even if they are 2 star.

[tony h]

on reflection i think the dish had bigger problems than semi-cooked scallops. First & foremost - it was dry & dry food in a no no. The celeriac puree with truffles didn't act as a sauce, it was too stiff - also - the pairing of scallops & truffles didn’t really work - i thought it was a "lets use the most expensive ingredients" dish rather than what'll make this dish interesting, fun & satisfying. By comparison, those us fortunate to have make the pilgrimage to Cheltenham & tasted the pleasure of DEM’s scallops with pumpkin, squid & squid ink can’t help but have blown away by the harmonious composition in colour, texture and taste – these two dishes are a million miles apart.

(maybe we should rename the thread scallopgate)

Edited by Tony Higgins, 29 November 2005 - 04:05 AM.

[fabienpe]

First & foremost - it was dry & dry food in a no no.  The celeriac puree with truffles didn't act as a sauce, it was too stiff  - also - the pairing of scallops & truffles didn’t really work

Interesting coincidence. I went to Midsummer House tonight and had the scallops and beg to disagree with Tony. Absolutely no problem of cold inside. So maybe AlexW is right: Tony was just very unlucky. I did not feel the dish required sauce really, although I tend to be a ‘sauce person’ and often ask for more. Scallops were soft, warm and moist, and the celeriac purée smooth and light. As for the tastes, I think the truffle flavour in the purée was pretty clear (maybe a bit too strong to my taste) and apple jelly cubes tasted like fresh apple juice.

As for the combination truffle/scallop, it is a well tested one which I had at least at Ducasse, Passard, Darroze and Winkler! In fact I’ve just opened Ducasse’s Grand Livre de Cuisine and found no less than 9 recipes involving truffle (melano or alba) and scallops!

The alumettes of fresh granny smith apple together with the jelly brought that little acidity which nicely balanced the sweetness of the scallops.

By the way, there is a picture of the dish on the restaurant's website which you get by clicking on “The Menus” on the left menu but which is also directly accessible at: http://www.midsummer...tent/plate3.jpg

Fabien